Method of making sewing ribs for welt insoles



March 6, 1945. w c. WRIGHT METHOD OF MAKING SEWING RIBS FOR WELT INSOLES Filed Dec. 6, 1.941

as e, 1945 WELT INSOLES Wallace 0. Wright, llrookfield, N. E, assignorto Wright-Batchelder Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts application December 6, 1941, Serial No. 421,974

' 1 Claim. col. a-m) My present invention is an improvement in the manufacture of boots and shoes,- and more particularly relates to an initially and permanently flexible sewing rib structure of fibrous moldable material, which .can be secured to an insole blank, thus forming a welt insole for standard boot and shoe construction.

In my development-of improvements directed other commercial form; A

plurality or such treatmentsmay be effected, and a series of successive compressing rolls may be utilized to condense, thicken, and solidify the fibres of the sen I eral superimposed layers during such liquid treatments, or afterward, or both during and afterward. W l

to improve and perfect the manufacture of flexible footwear, such for example as illustrated in my prior and copending applications Ser. No. 399,049, filed June 21, 1941';Ser. No. 409,597, filed September 5, 1941; and Ser. No. 413,500, filed October 3, 1941, I have illustrated, described, and claimed various improvements in welt shoe construction wherein an initiallyand permanently flexible welt insole, and particularly the sewing rib used therewith, is employed. I

Such prior applications were directed primarily to synthetic plastic material, such as plasticized vinyl resins, and my present invention is directed mainly to aconstruction of a fibrous material built up from an inexpensive and economical mass of cotton, woolen, or other waste fibre, which may be built into a plurality of layers and with the fibres intermingled or interlaced and then treated with a binder, which would also tend to strengthen the fibres sufilciently to be capable of use as a sewing rib, would have stitch-retaining strength and sufficient rigidity for the lasting and'sewing operations in shoe manufacture, and yet maintain a pliable yielding construction.

I have discovered that by properly preparing such waste fibre, and then treating the same with a strengthening binding, preserving, and resilient liquid or solution that the fibrous material can then be molded by running the same in ap- It may also be desirable to subject the plurality of superimposed fibrous layers to an-agitating or vibrating treatment to still further insure an interlacing of the fibres and thus increase the strength and stitch-retaining capacity of the completed fibrous rib.

With the sheet material thus treated and the mass of fibres impregnated with the binding and preserving solution, latex, or the like, as well as compressed and condensed into a firm sheet with substantial tensile strength, it is, after being 11- nally treated, condensed, and dried, then cut into strips and such strips can be molded into T-form by feeding the samedthru forming rolls so that the mass of fibres are still further compressed into an upstanding rib and horizontal attaching, flange suitable for attachment by adhesive to the marginal portion of an insole blank. The sewing rib form or contour, with its integral attaching flange as thus molded, may be substantially similar in cross-section to the sewing rib propriate strips thru suitable rolls, forming the fibres into an upstanding rib and horizontal flange portion, which is ideally suitable for attachment by adhesive to the marginal portion of a fiat insole blank, and thus enables a permanently flexible sewing rib structure in a welt shoe to be made.

In carrying out my invention, I prefer to em- I ploy any standard felting processes, using a mass of any suitable fibrous material or mixture of the same, such as the waste products of wool, cotton, rayon, linen, or the like. Some wood pulp fibre might even be employed. This material is then built up in successive masses or layers, mixed or superimposed upon each other, preferably in layers applied crosswise, diagonally, or on the bias to effect better interlacing of the fibres until a suitable thickness of, for example, one-eighth of an inch is obtained. Thereupon, these masses of fibres, preferably in the form of sheet material, are treated in one, or more,'bind- 'ing and preserving resilient solutions, such for example as liquid latex dispersed in water or as illustrated in my said prior and copending applications, and the flange or flanges maybe pinked or notched throughout their length to facilita attachment to the varying contour of the insole edge portion particularly around the toe'and shank.

By treating and molding the strips of fibrous materials as above briefly outlined while the same is still plastic, I secure a sewing rib with great strength both for stitch-retaining and with a sufilcient mass and rigidity to stand the lasting, stapling, and welt inseam sewing operations during the manufacture of shoes havingsuch a fibrous sewing rib attached to the insole.

The fibrous material itself on'the attaching flange presents'an ideal surface for being adhesively secured to the surface of the insole blank. Such a blank can be of leather or other material, or might be of the same fibrous material as the sewing rib structure just described. Thebinding, preserving, and strengthening liquid treatment also maintainsand preserves a uniform pliability and resiliency in the rib andfiange, thus-insuring a soft, yielding, compressible but strong sewtherewith eliminates all danger of forming ribs,

channels, or guttering on the insole during wear, and the yielding and compressibility gives a cushioning eflect around the margin of the shoe structure, which is a most desirable quality. The

economy of material, ease of manufacture, and

resultant desirable insole made by'my invention insures an initially and permanently flexible shoe structure, the sewing rib being of great strength, eliminating the necessity of gemming, reinforcing by canvas strips or the like, as is customary, and producing also a rib structure which can be readily cut during the inseam-trimming operation after the upper and insole are lasted.

Various methods of preparing such fibrous mam Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the treatment of the sheet material with a liquid binder and the successive rolling or compacting of the material into a predetermined thickness;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view partly in crosssection showing on an enlarged scale the molding of the strip of the treated fibrous layer into a sewing rib form with an upstanding portion and a horizontal attaching flange;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective on an enlarged scale of the complete rib pinked and ready for attachment to the insole blank, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating the attachment of the fibre rib to the marginal portion of the insole blank to make a welt insole therefrom.

As shown in the drawing, a plurality of layers of fibrous material I, 2, 3, and 4 are illustrated with .the end portions of the layers 2, 3, and I broken away to show the respective underneath layer, which layers may be built up into any plurality desired to give the thickness and mass of interlaced fibrous material for the particular size and dimensions of the sewing rib desired.

Preferably, and as illustrated in Fig. 1, certain intermediate layers such as 2 and 3 may be led at an angle in building up the sheet so as to give a bias interlacing in the fibres of successive layers. I contemplate the building of such a fibrous sheet of, for example, from four or more layers, after which the sheet is subjected to a vibrating or agitating operation, which will still further interlock the fibres into a wide sheet or strip II), which sheet is thereupon led thru one or more liquid treating baths, as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 3, the same comprising suitable receptacles II and I2 of appropriate width to accommodate the width of the material II) being led therethru, and filled with a suitable solution of liquid I5.

I find that latex, or its equivalent, is a suitable liquid for this purpose as it acts as a binder for the fibers and, furthermore, gives proper stiflness while maintaining the resiliency of the fibrous structure and, hence, the compressibility, while also preserving the fibers in its rubberlike coating.

The strip Ill is led into and out from the liquid I! thru a series of idlers I6, I1, I8 and I9 in each receptacle and between compacting and condensing pairsv of rolls 20-20, and thence thru successive compressing sets of rolls 2I-2l, 22-22, 28-23, which sets or pairs of rolls are spaced sumciently to permit appropriate drying therebetween and to force and condense the mass of the material from its original thickness, as shown at I0, to the left of Fig. 3, to the desired state as shown at 25 to the right of Fig. 3,

Thereupon, the sheet material is divided lengthwise into suitablestrips as indicated in dotted lines 26-26, Fig. 1, each strip containing a sufficient mass of material to be formed into the rib and flange structure. Any suitable method may be utilized for this latter step. A pair of rolls 30 and 3| spaced appropriately and with one roll 30 having a groove 33 is shown in which the mass of the strip is forced and molded to form an upstanding sewing rib 35 and its horizontal attaching flange 36, the fibrous material readily flowing and working into this contour as the strip of treated and elastic material is forced into and thruthe rolls 30 and 3|. A series of such rolls may be utilized if desired, and a further compacting and solidifying or compression of the mass of the fibrous material, as indicated at 40, is effected.

The flange 36 may extend at one side of the rib 35 or may extend at both sides, preferably the latter, as indicated at Fig. 5, whereupon either or both extending flange portions are preferably cut or pinked, as indicated at 4 I. The fibrous rib thus formed is then'cut into suitable lengths and applied to the marginal edge portion of the insole blank 44 around the shank, forepart, and toe, the contacting surfaces of either the flange 36 or of the insole 44, or both, being coated with adhesive for this purpose.

It will be appreciated that by utilizing quantities of varying types of fibrous materials, mainly waste fibers, but preferably with some wool or some cotton to give stitch-retaining strength and suflicient stiffness to withstand lasting and inseam stitching during shoe manufacture, I have provided an extremely economical, strong, durable, and permanently flexible sewing rib, which, because of its structure, pliability, stiffness, and latex treatment .will produce an initially flexible shoe structure. Furthermore, the fibrous surface of the flange is an ideal material for adhesively uniting the same and its integral rib to the insole blank 44 with suflicient strength to eliminate the necessity of gemming or the like reinforcing, although il desired such reinforcing could be applied in making mens heavy footwear.

I claim:

The herein described method of making a sewing rib of laminated fibrous sheet material for attachment to a welt insole, which consists in adhesively uniting a plurality of layers of said material while flat, then cutting the laminated sheet material into strips, treating the strip with liquid adhesive adapted to penetrate the fibers of said strip, and immediately thereafter progressively molding the adhesively treated strip into the final contour of a sewing rib having an upstanding rib and an integral horizontal attaching flange, said molding operation compressing the fibers of the rib into stitch-retaining condition said molding being effected before the adhesive sets, and the setting of the adhesive after molding maintaining the rib in molded form.

WALLACE C. WRIGHT. 

